Poker Styles Guide — Nit, TAG, LAG, Maniac & Calling Station Explained
Poker has evolved dramatically over the last two decades. Yet one thing remains constant: players naturally fall into clear poker playing styles. Understanding these styles helps you become a stronger player, recognize opponent tendencies, and exploit weaknesses with precision. This in-depth poker styles guide covers the five most common archetypes in No-Limit Texas Hold’em:
- Nit — ultra-tight, risk-averse
- TAG (Tight Aggressive) — solid, modern standard style
- LAG (Loose Aggressive) — wide, pressure-based strategy
- Maniac — wild aggression, huge swings
- Calling Station — loves calling, rarely folds or bluffs
Each style has different strengths, weaknesses, and ideal exploitation strategies. This guide will help you understand them deeply — and identify which one fits you best.
What Are Poker Playing Styles?
A poker playing style describes how someone makes decisions across thousands of hands. It’s the pattern that emerges from:
- their preflop hand selection
- aggression frequency
- bluffing strategy
- postflop discipline
- their emotional response to pressure
People usually do not choose a style consciously — their personality, risk tolerance and experience shape it. Recognizing your style and the styles of opponents makes you a significantly stronger player.
Want to test your own poker style? Take the Poker Style Test.
Nit Poker Style
Nits are the tightest players at the table. They avoid difficult spots, rarely bluff and often fold medium-strength hands. Their playing style centers around minimizing risk.
How Nits Play Preflop
Nits fold almost everything except premium hands. They open too narrow from every position and seldom defend blinds. While this avoids trouble, it also makes them predictable and easy to exploit.
How to Exploit Nits
- steal their blinds relentlessly
- fold to their aggression — it’s almost always strong
- continuation bet frequently — they fold too often
- don’t bluff-catch them unless you have strong reads
Read more: Nit Poker Style — Detailed Breakdown.
TAG Poker Style (Tight Aggressive)
TAG is the most common winning strategy in today’s games. It balances strong hand selection with selective, thoughtful aggression. TAGs don’t play many hands — but when they do, they take control of the pot.
Why TAG Is Effective
- simple to learn
- works well in low-stakes and mid-stakes
- maximizes value with strong hands
- avoids marginal spots
TAG Leak to Watch For
TAGs sometimes over-fold to aggression in spots where population bluffs too much. They also become predictable if they never widen their 3-bet range.
Read more: TAG Poker Style — Full Strategy Guide.
LAG Poker Style (Loose Aggressive)
LAGs are tough, creative, and fearless. They apply constant pressure and force opponents to make difficult decisions with marginal hands. A good LAG is one of the hardest styles to play against.
How LAGs Win
Their success comes from exploiting passive opponents and stealing pots uncontested. LAGs have strong postflop skills and good board awareness.
Risks of LAG Style
When things go wrong, LAGs may spew chips. This style requires emotional discipline and constant recalibration.
Read more: LAG Poker Style — Explained.
Maniac Poker Style
Maniacs take aggression to extremes. They play huge pots with marginal hands, bluff constantly, and generate high variance. While they can win big in short bursts, their style is unstable long-term.
How Maniacs Play
- open too many hands
- 3-bet extremely wide
- barrel aggressively on all boards
- call down too light
How to Beat Maniacs
Tighten your range and value-bet relentlessly. Maniacs pay off everything.
Read more: Maniac Poker Style — Full Breakdown.
Calling Station Poker Style
Calling stations love to see showdowns. They call with any piece of the board and hate folding. They rarely bluff but often pay off strong hands.
How to Beat Calling Stations
- value bet big and often
- never bluff them
- avoid fancy creative lines
Read more: Calling Station Poker Style — Strategy Guide.
Which Poker Style Is Best?
There is no universally “best” style. The correct style depends on:
- your skill level
- table dynamics
- opponent tendencies
- effective stacks
- your emotional state
Generally:
Tight Aggressive (TAG) is the most stable long-term winning style.
LAG is the highest skill-cap style.
Nit is safe but low-profit.
Maniac is fun but volatile.
Calling Station is the most exploitable.
FAQ: Poker Playing Styles
What is the difference between TAG and LAG?
TAG players use narrower, stronger ranges. LAGs play wider ranges and rely more on pressure and postflop creativity.
Are poker styles fixed?
No. Your style naturally evolves with experience — many players begin as calling stations or nits and later become TAG or LAG players.
What style wins the most?
A well-balanced TAG-LAG hybrid strategy is the strongest long-term winning style, especially at mid and high stakes.
How do I know my poker style?
You can identify your style using the Poker Style Test.
Take the Poker Style Test
Want to know whether you’re a Nit, TAG, LAG, Maniac or Calling Station? Take the short test here: Poker Style Test